Last week in review...

Overall, a very good week of training and riding.
Monday started off with a nice recovery ride circling the area North of my place. I followed those up with similar rides on Wednesday and Thursday. Here is a sample of the things I saw along the route:
I saw an impaled pig being roasted.

I saw Edith's store of plenty.

I saw my nemesis, the road grader.

I rode the Poto again.

I saw barb wire.

I saw plastic coconut palms.

I saw Spring flowers.


I saw some wildlife.

I had a Hummer moment.


No races this weekend for me. The Paris-Ancaster 60K and the Yankee Springs Time Trial will have to wait until next year.

Sunday Poto and Time Trial

SUNDAY!! SUNDAY!! SUNDAY!!
What a fantastic day of riding. The weather was nice and I headed up to Pinkney Michigan to check out the Potawatamie Trail. The Poto is Michigan's oldest mountain bike trail and also one of the longest at 18 miles. I rode this trail for the first time back in October for the unofficial Single Speed World Championships and realized how truly epic this place is. The trail has many features that makes it fun to ride. Steep climbs, fast descents, roots, rocks and a flowing layout that favors MOMENTUM. Also, the trail is a model for trail advocacy and sustainability. The Poto Chapter of the MMBA maintains the trail and the work they have done to the trail is amazing.
The first 100 feet of trail:

Halfway through my second lap I realized I was starting to fade so I finished it out and headed up the road to Hell, Michigan for a slice of pizza. 41 miles of AM awesomeness!

I headed home and swapped out the bikes and made the trek over to Hines Drive for our RACING GREYHOUNDS team time trial. This was event #3 for our team series. These events allows members from the Mountain, Tri or Touring club to jump in and try a different facet of cycling among teammates. It is truly a team building exercise.

Daniel:

In a nutshell, I really suck at road racing. The intensity is well beyond my tolerance for pain. The Time Trial format was to ride 6.5 miles from Outer Drive to Nankin Mills and turn around. Riders were spaced at 30 second intervals. I started and realized within a minute that my heart rate was through the roof! I was actually seeing spots! I backed off a bit and was eventually reeled in by the rider behind me, Jeffro. As he slid past me he said, "jump on". In "official" time trials you are NOT permitted to draft, but I could not resist the offering. Jeffro is a large, strong rider and I found myself flying along in his vortex. I would move to the front to give him a break and each time I discovered I could not maintain the speed for very long. I suck! This went on until the finish. I was gassed and realize I would never have gone this fast if I was alone on the road like you are supposed to be. I now have a bad case of, "wheelsucker guilt". Crap, I never feel like this after a mountain bike race! My time was 32:45 with an average speed of 23.23 MPH.
Jeffro and the 13 mile leadout:

Afterwards we headed over to Benny's Pizza for some carbs and beer.



Overall, a great day of riding!

2010 Paris to Ancaster race...

Keeping with the gravel road theme for 2010 this race in Ontario, Canada is quickly approaching. 60K of unknown sounds like a blast. Olympian Allison Sydor kicked ass in last year's event. By all appearances, this race is a huge event with no rider cap. It could be freaking epic!! If I can work out sleeping arrangements (find a cheap hotel) I may work this race in. Who knows?

EVENT LINK:

The 4 County Gravel Grinder 100 - April 10, 2010

Keeping with my "try something new" theme for this year,I have been eying this ride for this Saturday. I enjoy the Oxford area and the terrain around there offers some outstanding riding and training opportunities. And it's free...

Ride INFO:

What's going on?

Due to the possibility of rain (I know, it's a lame excuse) I decided to take a rest day and catch up on a few things. The snow is long gone and the month of April has started off great with warmer temperatures and plenty of riding. I've been primarily riding before work on the gravel roads around the Ann Arbor, MI area.


I was also able to squeeze in a ride Easter Sunday and took in a few laps of fabulous singletrack at Stoney Creek Metro park. The trail conditions were primo and it felt great to be railing some turns while taking in the sunshine! The trail had a few re-routes which were very well done and did not take away from the general flow.

A portion of the Roller Coaster (look closely for the trail):


Caution, go like hell!


Time to wash the bibs...